Happy Valentine's Day! Here are the best love songs for a playlist

As we head into Valentine's Day, here's a playlist of 20 songs from various eras to set the mood for romance.

That means different things for different artists, naturally.

Some of these records are steeped in the starry-eyed sweetness of love at its most innocent while others dim the lights and take a sexier approach to showing their appreciation for that special someone.

We'll get our playlist started with the sweetest, most romantic song I've ever heard.

Al Green, "Let's Stay Together" (1971)

If what you want is a pledge of eternal devotion, you can't top "Let's Stay Together."

It reads like a wedding proposal, from the time he wraps the sweetest soul falsetto ever around "I want to spend my life with you" to a chorus that feels like wedding vows have been exchanged: "Loving you whether (whether) times are good or bad, happy or sad."

And Green's delivery is the essence of romance.

The Weeknd, "Earned It" (2015)

This slow-burning smash from the soundtrack to, of all things, "Fifty Shades of Grey" is the sort of ballad James Brown might have done if he'd been blessed with a falsetto more in Al Green territory.

It’s erotically charged enough for “Fifty Shades,” but it’s clear that the Weeknd is in it for more than the sexual healing as he pledges his devotion with a soulful chorus of " 'Cause, girl, you're perfect / You're always worth it / And you deserve it."

Ramones, "Baby I Love You" (1980)

Few recordings have captured the sweetness of love's early stages with the charm and innocence Joey Ramone invests in this recording of a Ronettes classic written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, who produced this orchestrated cover.

"Have I ever told you how good it feels to hold you?," he asks. "It isn't easy to explain." And there's no reason to explain. It's all there in the lovestruck vulnerability of Joey's vocal.

Rihanna, “Higher” (2016)

There's so much passion in the way Rihanna throws herself into the chorus of this richly orchestrated throwback to the golden age of soul.

And it helps that the lyrics are great. “This whiskey got me feeling pretty,” she sings. “So pardon if I’m impolite/ I just really need your ass wit’ me/ I’m sorry ‘bout the other night.”

What makes it even more effective is the way she slurs the lines as though this whiskey really got her feeling pretty.

Aretha Franklin, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (1967)

The Queen of Soul begins this stately, gospel-flavored ballad singing, "Looking out on the morning rain, I used to feel so uninspired/ And when I knew I had to face another day, Lord, it made me feel so tired." But that's before the day she met you.

Even the strings sound happy at the mention of that fateful day. And when the chorus hits, that love feels like transcendence — a flawless recording of a perfect song. "I didn't know just what was wrong with me 'til your kiss helped me name it"? Soulful genius.

Ariana Grande “Dangerous Woman” (2016)

This track makes the most of Grande’s vocal range over a smoldering old-school R&B groove (cut in 6/8 like an old James Brown song) as she testifies, Aretha-style, that “Something ‘bout you makes me feel like a dangerous woman.”

And then she follows that line with a sultry delivery of “Something 'bout you makes me wanna do things that I shouldn't."

The Beatles, "Something" (1969)

In a '90s interview with Undercover magazine, George Harrison talked about how everyone presumed he'd written this for his then-wife Pattie Boyd. "But actually," Harrison said, "when I wrote it, I was thinking of Ray Charles."

That explains the soulful quality of Harrison's first Beatles A-side. And it feels like romance, even if the lyrics couch those feelings in the fact that, as Harrison puts it, "I don't wanna leave her now."

Miguel, "Adorn" (2012)

This ballad felt timeless on impact, working a Marvin Gaye "Sexual Healing" vibe with heavy bass, some Michael Jackson yelps and a vocal that puts the focus on the steamy side of romance without getting dirty.

John Lennon, "Love" (1970)

The words are simple: "Love is real, real is love / Love is feeling, feeling love / Love is wanting to be loved."

It's the way Lennon puts those words across that gives the song its depth and resonance, as though he knows there's really not much else to say on such a shopworn topic.

Selena Gomez, “Hands to Myself” (2016)

This is Gomez at her sexiest, the sparse production pushing her sultry delivery of “Can’t keep my hands to myself / No matter how hard I’m tryin’ to / I want you all to myself / You’re metaphorical gin and juice" straight into your ears with a trembling pout.

The best part is when it sounds like the song has just ended with one last reminder that she can’t keep her hands to herself, but then she brings it back in with a brilliantly phrased, “I mean, I could but why would I want to?”

Otis Redding, "These Arms of Mine" (1962)

OK, technically, he doesn't have her yet. But if she heard this record, she'd be in those lonely arms of his before the chorus hits.

There's something to be said for his understated pleading, setting the scene with, "These arms of mine, they are lonely/ Lonely and feeling blue/ These arms of mine, they are yearning/ Yearning from wanting you."

He's polite, too, which is always nice. "And if you would let them hold you," he tells her, "Oh how grateful I will be."

Alvvays, "Archie, Marry Me" (2014)

You could teach a master class in old-school girl-group yearning using Molly Rankin's vocal on this crush-pop classic as your only blueprint. And the kids would get it.

It's the sound of young love at its most romantic, eyes at their starriest, hopes at their highest. That wistful guitar part that opens the track is the perfect setup, and Rankin follows through with "You express excessively your intent for matrimony."

Paul McCartney, "Maybe I'm Amazed" (1970)

Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs. This we know because McCartney told us (in one of the most defensive pop songs ever written). But the most enduring love song of his solo years isn't silly at all.

It's a soulful triumph fueled by raw emotion, capturing the lovestruck passion of a man who's willing to admit that "Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you." All that and one of the '70s' greatest guitar solos, written and originally played by McCartney himself.

WOLFZiE featuring Tru Vonne, “You” (2018)

This dreamy electro-soul ballad is a local pick with a breathtaking vocal from Tru Vonne, who sets the tone in the opening verse by promising no less than “When the world is over, I’ll still be thinking about you.”

Then there’s the opening line of the chorus: “Going through my mind all day/ Trying not to stay awake / So I can dream about you.” It doesn’t get much more romantic that this.

Alice Cooper, "You and Me" (1977)

A shockingly tender soft-rock ballad from a star who rose to fame, in part, on a stage show that included his own death by guillotine, "You and Me" is a tender expression of getting by on love and maybe some popcorn in front of the television.

"You and me ain't no movie stars," he sings. "What we are is what we are/ We share a bed/ some lovin' and TV, yeah/ That's enough for a working man/ What I am is what I am and I tell you babe, well, that's enough for me."

Carly Rae Jepsen, "Cut to the Feeling" (2017)

There's an undeniable sense of euphoria to the chorus of this disco-flavored celebration of what happens when you cross the line from a dream to reality, to paraphrase the handclap-driven first verse.

But it's on the chorus hook that Jepsen gives euphoria the wheel with a spirited declaration of "I wanna play where you play with the angels / I wanna wake up with you all in tangles, oh / I wanna cut to the feeling, oh yeah."

The Jackson 5, "I'll Be There" (1970)

This classic Motown hit is pure romance. Take the opening line about how you and I must make a pact to bring salvation back, as sung by preteen Michael Jackson.

Then there's "I'll be there to comfort you/ Build my world of dreams around you/ I'm so glad that I found you/ I'll be there with a love that's strong/ I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on."

Beyonce, “Crazy in Love” (2003)

Beyonce's breakthrough single made the most of Jay-Z's guest appearance (declaring himself “a star like Ringo”). But the horns her producer, Rich Harrison, sampled from the Chi-Lites hit "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)," are just as crucial to the song's appeal.

And then there are the lyrics, concerning a love so overwhelming it’s “got me looking so crazy right now” and “hoping you’ll page me right now.” This song is so old, Beyonce had guys paging her.

Etta James, "At Last" (1960)

There's a reason this became James' signature song. From that opening flurry of strings to the way those same strings punctuate her vocal when she sings, "My lonely days are over and life is like a song," the production is flawless — lush but never schmaltzy.

And where such other James classics as "All I Could Do Was Cry" found the young singer making most of soul's unlimited potential for expressing pain and heartache, "At Last" is one of soul's most joyful moments.

D'Angelo, "Untitled (How Does it Feel?) (2000)

This is one of the sexier songs on our Valentine’s playlist, D'Angelo asking repeatedly "How does it feel?" while the rhythm section underscores his chorus with a groove that says, "Don't even knock. We're having sex now."

And it's pretty clear that he already knows the answer to that question. He's just being thoughtful, having told her exactly what she's in for at the top. "And if you'll have me/I can provide everything that U desire."

Marvin Gaye, "Let's Get It On" (1973)

There's something to be said for any song that still feels sexy after seeing Jack Black ham it up in "High Fidelity." But you can't make this kind of list without this song.

The sexual urgency Gaye invests in that vocal is undeniable from the opening line: "I've been really tryin', baby, tryin' to hold back these feelings for so long."

And we may all be sensitive people, as Marvin suggests, but once you've held those feelings back for that long, well, you can't be blamed for going with a come-on as emphatic as "Let's get it on."

FKA Twigs, "Two Weeks" (2014)

This sexy, soulful slow jam sounds like neo-soul as Kate Bush would have done it, with more than occasional echoes of Prince — all while making the most of the British singer's vulnerable upper register.

Those crystalline high notes are enough to give a person chills while achieving the type of emotional resonance you might not expect from a song in which the singer claims she's "higher than a motherf----r."

Roberta Flack, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (1969)

There's so much unbridled emotion invested in every nuance of this Grammy-winning reinvention of a song that was written by Ewan MacColl in the '50s for fellow folkie Peggy Seeger to perform.

Flack took that song and made it smolder by slowing it down to a sensual crawl. After scoring a scene of a couple making love in "Play Misty for Me," it topped the Billboard year-end Hot 100 in 1972 and won Grammys for Record and Song of the Year.

Norah Jones, "Come Away With Me" (2002)

The words are unabashedly romantic and straightforward: "Come away with me and we'll kiss on a mountaintop / Come away with me and I'll never stop loving you."

And the subdued arrangement only makes it that much more romantic, adding a layer of intimacy to Jones' understated vocal.

It sounds more like she's daydreaming about that mountaintop while singing to herself than standing in a studio recording the album that went on to make her a star.

Buddy Holly, "True Love Ways" (1960)

Recorded in October 1958, three months before a plane crash claimed his life, this heartfelt ballad was a wedding gift to Holly's wife, Maria. And it sounds like it was written to be sung at weddings, the Dick Jacobs Orchestra making it feel like a jazz standard.

Adele, "Make You Feel My Love" (2008)

Many artists have taken a crack at this plainspoken Bob Dylan standard, which he recorded for "Time Out of Mind" in 1997. But Adele's rendition is perhaps the most romantic (although personally I'll take Dylan singing Dylan every time).

The arrangement is sparse, just Adele on piano and vocals with an understated string arrangement, putting the focus on the power of her vocals.

Most Dylanesque moment: "I’d go hungry, I’d go black and blue / And I’d go crawling down the avenue / No, there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do / To make you feel my love."

Bob Dylan, "If Not For You" (1970)

It's only fair to let Bob Dylan sing one of his own songs after that. This country-rocking valentine was also featured on George Harrison's post-Beatles masterpiece, "All Things Must Pass." And that Harrison version is brilliant, but this is classic Dylan.

There's something about the way he phrases "And you know it's true" like an aside coming out of the bridge, after singing, "If not for you, my sky would fall / Rain would gather too / Without your love, I'd be nowhere at all / I'd be lost if not for you."

Katy Perry, "Teenage Dream" (2010)

Who better than Perry to sing about the power of love to make you feel like you're 16 again (but in a good way)?

After setting the tone with an oddly bittersweet delivery of "You think I'm pretty without any makeup on," this chart-topper kicks into club mode with a throbbing disco pulse.

And she throws a reference to Valentine's Day with "You brought me to life/ Now every February, you'll be my valentine."

Dusty Springfield, "The Look of Love" (1967)

This Bacharach and David song became a standard for a reason, first recorded as a Stan Getz instrumental before Dusty Springfield cut this Oscar-nominated version for "Casino Royale."

And Springfield really taps into the essence of the lyrics, drawing you in with her sultry delivery of the song's first line: "The look of love is in your eyes / A look your smile can't disguise / The look of love is saying so much more than just words could ever say."

Karen O and Ezra Koenig, "Moon Song" (2014)

Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs brings her vulnerable best to a cocktail-jazz ballad that sounds like something Sondre Lerche might have done when he was younger with Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig as her tender vocal foil.

O wrote the Oscar-nominated future standard for the movie "Her" after reading the script. And it's hard to imagine someone rising to the challenge with a more romantic treasure of a song.